Rail-joint.



- object of the invention being UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEONARD WHITE, OF POLLOKSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA.

RAIL-JOINT.

T0 all whom t't may concem:

Be it known that I, LEONARD WHI1E, a citizen of the United States,residing at Polloksville, in the county of Jones and State of N orthCarolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Rail-Joints, ofwhich the follovving is a specification.

This invention relates to rail joints, the to do away with the ordinaryfish plates or splice bars now in common use together with the bolts andnuts used in connection with such plates and to provide means wherebythe abutting ends of the rails may be connected together in a secure andreliable manner and in such a way that the rails may be laid andconnected in practically one-half the time now required by reason of theuse of the ordinary fish plates, bolts and nuts.

WVith the above and other objects in view, the nature of which Will morefully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in thenovel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as herein fullydescribed, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the railjoint showing several adjacent tics. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective viewof the end of one of the rails. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the endportion of an adjoining rail. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section throughthe joint.

In carrying out the present invention, each rail 1 is provided at oneend with longitudinal projecting fork arms 2 and 3 arranged in parallelrelation to each other as cleaily shown in Fig. 2, the said fork armsextending well back along the opposite sides of the web 4; of the railand being united thereto by welding or by any other approved method. Thefork arms 2 are provided at their outer ends with downwardly extendingtenons 5 the inner corners of which are rounded or beveled off as shownat 6 to facilitate the insertion of the tenons in the sockets 7 providedtherefor in the op posite base flanges 8 of the end of the ad-Specification of Letters Patent.

Application flled Match 13,

Patented Oct. 20, 1908.

1908. Serial N 0. 420,824.

joining rail 1 as shown in Fig. 3. Furthermore, the upper edges of thefork arms are made gradually sloping 01" tapering as shown at 9 from thehead of the rail to which they are connected outward toward theextremities thereof, the object in so sloping the edges 9 being to admitof the ready assembling and connecting of the adjacent end of two railsas Will be readily under stood by reference to Fig. 1.

In coupling the adjacent ends of the rails together, said ends areelevated sufficiently to enable the tenons 5 to enter the sockets 7provided therefor and after such engagement has been efl'ected, the railends are 10W- ered into contact with the tics shown at 10 and spikes 11or their equivalent are then driven into the ties and in engagement withthe base fianges of the rails in the ordinary manner. As longas the railends are held down upon the ties, it Will be impossible for the tenons 5to become disengaged from the sockets 7. A suitable space 12 is leftbetween the abutting ends of the rails as shown in Fig. 1 toprovide forthe usual contraction and expansion due to changes in the weather;

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is:-

In a rail joint, the combination of rail ends, one of which is providedwith forked arms which project longitudinally beyond the end of the railand are provided at their extremities with depending tenons and whichhave their upper edges tapered or sloping toward the extremities, theother rail end being provided with mortises in the base fianges thereofat opposite sides of the Web, said mortises being adapted to receive thetenons of the fork arms, substantially as described.

Intestimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEONARD WHITE.

Witnesses:

J AMIES C. IIOLLAND, ABNER J. IARGETT.

